The Perfectionists by Sara Shepard (Review)

I went into The Perfectionists with rather mixed feelings. I was excited because I enjoy contemporaries like this, but also wary because I had heard mixed things about Sara Shepard’s previous series (that others have said The Perfectionistsis similar to in many ways) Pretty Little Liars. However, I must admit, I was very much pleasantly surprised and came out actually really enjoying this.

Five girls — Parker, Julie, Caitlin, Mac and Ava — have all, in some way or another, fallen victim to Nolan Hotchkiss and thus all secretly despise him. In a town where everybody has to be perfect, Nolan is the most perfect and most revered of them all. Together, the girls come up with a way to murder him — all hypothetical, of course, until he turns up dead. The girls must find the real killer before their very perfect lives are ruined for good.

I really enjoyed the characters in The Perfectionists and, for me, it was certainly one of the high points. Each of the five girls had a very distinct personality and were rather likeable characters (my favorites were Ava and Julie). I deeply admired the friendship between the five girls, and loved how it was portrayed — they knew each other’s secrets, yet each were understanding and were very accepting of each other.

The plot was sometimes over shadowed by the romantic entanglements of the girls. Although I did like reading of their ‘perfect’ lives, sometimes I wished it to get back to the mystery at hand — WHO KILLED NOLAN? I do have my own suspicions and I can say that I’m eager for the next book in the series, but I do hope it doesn’t drag out like I’ve heard the PLL series does.

Overall, an enjoyable read that’s very much entertaining and difficult to put down (& it’s a quick read, too).